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' PatentedApr. 1, 1890.

J. A. HERRICK.

RBGBNERATUR PURNAQE.

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J.A. HBRRICK. RBGBNBRATOR PUBNAGB.

Patented Apr. 1, 189.0. 1

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Patented Apr. 1,1890.

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[UNrrnD STATES l ATENT OFFICE..

JAMES A. HERRICK, OF N ElV YORK, N. Y.

REGENEFlATOR-FURNACE.V

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 424,480, dated April 1, 1890.

Application tiled November 21, 1887. Serial No. 255,782. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that l, JAMES A. HERRICK, of New York, county and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Regenerator-Furnaces, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, likeletters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to furnaces of the class known as continuous regenerators, and has for its object to improve the construction of the same.

In accordance with my invention the gas generator or producer is attached directly to the main structure or furnace proper, the gas generated in the producer passing into the heating-chamber over a hollow bridge-wall, from which issues heated air either alone or enriched by natural, water, or other gas or natural gas "alone, the said air or natural gas or mixture of both being cornmingled with the gas generated in the producer to create the iiame by which the` material within the heating-chamber is heated, the said air being heated by passing through a system of flues or passages located below the heatingchamber, the said air ilues or passages being heated by the waste products of combustion, which pass through a separate series of tlues on their way out of the furnace, as will be described.

My improved furnace is especially adapted for heating metals to any temperature below full white heat, for annealing metals, baking' Crockery, tiles, bricks, cbc., and it is also well adapted to be used with close muftles for annealing-that is, when it is desired the alneshould not impinge or act directly upon the material to be heated.

My invention therefore consists of a furnace having novel points of construction, which will be pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 is a vertical section of a furnace embodying my invention, the section being taken on line a: w, Fig. 3, through the fumespassage. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of my improved furnace on line az', Fig. 3, the section being taken through the air passage or flue. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line rc2 rc2, Fig. 2, showing two gasproducers, to illustrate the manner of constructing the furnace when a plurality of gas-producers are employed in one furnace.' Fig. 4 is a section of Fig. 1 on line y y, looking to the left; Fig. 5, an end elevation of the furnace shown in Fig. 1, the outside ash-pit being in section; Fig. 6, a detail tobe referred to; Fig. 7, a section of the door-casting in Fig. 5 on line y2 y2; Fig. 8, a detail of the door ofthe heating-chamber and mechanism for operating it; Fig. 9, a detail to be referred to, and Fig. 10 a sectional detail of the door of the heatingchamber and the cover closing the opening therein..

Referring to Fig. 1, the outer walls A of my improved furnace, composed of fire-brick or other suitable material and strengthened in any usual manner, as by iron Aplates 2 and binders 3, connected together by rods 4, support in usual or well-known manner the dome or roof A.

The furnace is provided wit-h an upright wall A', (see Figs. 1 and 2,) dividing the said furnace into a gas-producer A2 and a heatingchamber A3. The gas-.producer A2 is provided with braces (shown as rails a) to support the grate-bars d', upon which the coal or other fuel to be consumed is supported. The coal or other fuel is supplied or fed into the producer through a chute or hopper d2, formed in the outer' wall A, the said hopper being closed by a door CL3, herein shown as hinged at at and connected by a chain a5 to a counterbalancing-weight a, suspended by the said chain over a pulley a7, supported byvuprights as, secured to the outer wall of the furnace.

` The side or end of the furnace is provided, as shown, with two sets of doors 5 6, the door 6 communicating with the ash-pit ai below the grate-bars d', and through which doors the ashes maybe removed. The bottom 0,12 of the ash-pit is herein shown as upwardly inclined toward the back of the ash-pit or away from the door, for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

The rails d support, as herein shown, pipes b, only one of which is shown, the said pipe being extended outside the furnace and connected by pipe b, provided with a cock or valve bx, to a suitable steam -generator or source of supply, (not herein shown,) said pipe Z) within the ash-pit being provided with perforations through which steam may issue,

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preferably in a downward direction, into the ash-pit.

The Vash-pit a9 has extended into or communicating with it an air-supplying pipe b2, communicating outside the furnace with api pe 8, (see Fig. 2,) connected With a suitable blast or air pump, (not herein shown,) the mouth or outlety of the air-pipe b2 preferably being bellshaped or expanded io cause the air forced into the ash-pit to be diffused therethrough and more intimately commingled with the steam therein. The downwardly-projected steam mixes with the air and charges the'same with moisture, and the moist air is drawn or forced up through the bed of coal or other fuel, producing combustible gases in usual manner. The air entering the producers passes through a layer of steam, which serves to moisten the same, and thereby prevent the burning out of the grate-bars, the said steamtending to prevent the formation of clinkers. The gases generated in the producer A2 pass over a bridge-wall formed by removable caps or blocks b3, mounted upon and forming a continuation of the wall A in a direction indicated by the arrow 20, Figs. 1 and 2, into the heating-chamber or furnace proper A3, in which the material to be treated is placed. The gases generated in the producer as they pass over the bridge-wall may be commingled with and enriched by either air, natural, water, or other gas, or a mixture of both, which issues from a duct b4 in the cap or block b3, the natural or other gas being supplied through a pipe 9, located, as shown, in a passsage or chamber 10 in the wall A and connected to a suitable`source of supply located out-side the furnace and not herein shown.

- The heat generated by mixing air with the herein shown,four passages arranged verti cally one above the other and connected at their opposite ends, so that the air admitted into the lowest of the passages b5 is caused to traverse the furnace four times, as indicated by arrows 22, Fig. 2, before finding an exit through the duct b4, connected to the upper- Y most passage b5 by chamber 10 and passage 12 in the wall A. It will thus be seen that the air becomes highly heated before mixing with the gases generated in the gas-producer. The flame generated by a mixture of air and gas may be deiiected into the heating-chamber or furnace Vproper A3 to any desired distance by varying the inclination or curvature of the duct b4 in the cap or block b3. The flame and products of combust-ion after passing through the heating-chamber A3 pass intoflues or passages 57, Fig. 1, traversing the furnace below the bed or hearth Z220 of the heating-chamber, the said iiame and products of combustion finding an exit into a smoke flue or culvert b9, (see Figs. 1 and 2,) communicating with the stack or chimney 13, (see Fig. 3,) the course of the iiame being indicated in Fig. 1 by arrows 23. The passage 197, which I shall hereinafter designate as the fumes-passage, contains a series of slabs or bricks 1910 of refractory material, which are staggered or so arranged as to retard the passage of the fumes through the passages 227, so that the bottom of the hearth b2@ and the slabs themselves may become more intensely heated.

As herein shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the passages b5 57 are made continuous in a vertical direction, and, as shown in Fig. 4, a continuous air-passage b5 is located between each pair of continuous f times-passages 12T-that is, the air and fumes passages are alternately arranged with relation to each other.

The bottom or lowest of the fumes-passages 197 communicates with the culvertl?9 through the passage 1913 in the arch b of the said culvert, (see Fig. 4,) and the lowest air-passage b5 communicates with the air-culvert bs through similar openings (not shown) in the arch Z912 of the said culvert. The air may be forced into the culvert bs through a pipe c, (see dotted lines, Fig. 2,) communicating with the pipe 8, connected to the blast or air pump, or the said air may be admittted into the culvert bs by natural draft through a pipe c2, having its inlet end supported, as shown, in the end wall c3 of an outside pit or chamber cX for ashes, the said pipe communicating with the atmosphere and being controlled by a register c4, (see Figs. 2 and 3,) the pipe c being also provided with suitable dampers or valves, (not herein shown,) by which the amount of air supplied to the culvert may be regulated according to the requirements of the furnace and degree of heat required in the heating-chamber A3.

Referring to Fig. 5, the door frame or casting of the ash-pit is made in two parts d cZ, which are separated by a space of several inches, the said space being closed in front by a flange cl2 of the part d. The ange d2 midway betweemcach set of doors has an opening or slot d3, (see Fig. 6,) into which is inserted a staple-shaped piece 614, of iron, which projects beyond the door-frames and through an opening d5, in which a wedge d is driven to hold the set of doors with which it co-operates firmly against the door-frames. The door-frames d d and staple d4 are bound together by a bolt (Z7, passed through them, the said bolt being secured by a nut d8, (see Fig. 7,) thus making an easily fitted and substantial structure. The air-pipe b2 for each gas-producer is carried through the wall, separating two adjacent gas producers, and

' turned substantially at a right angle into the ash-pit of the gas-producers.

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To prevent the top and the sides @20, Fig. 1, of the coal-chute a2 from bein g rapidly burned out, the said top and sides'are lined with rebrick or other refractory material, the top being made as an 'independent arch e (see Figs. 1 and 2) outside or beyond the wall of the furnace, to enable the same to be readily renewed, the said arch e abutting against the toparch or roof of the chute or hopper a2, thus protecting the iron plate forming the frontof the furnace from the fire.

To enable any deposition of soot or other material to be readily removed from the.

fumes and air passages, the walls of the said passages are provided, respectively, with removable sections e', Fig. l, e'Fig. 2, the removable section of the air-passage being shown as a part of the WallA. v

, The passage b4 in the cap b3, through which the heated air issues into the heating-chamber A3, is contracted at its outlet or discharge end to increase the force of the air issuing therefrom.

vThe heating-chamber A3 is provided with a door e3, preferably one on each side of the furnace, and composed of an outer metal plate e4, having on its inner sides,'as shown, beveled ribs e5, (see Fig. 8,) and an inner facing or lining e, of fire-brick or other refractory material. The platee4 and ribs e5 will preferably be cast together, and each of the said ribs will preferably be left or made straight at its upper end near the top of the plate e4, as at ex,(see Fig. 8,)'to'pern1it abrick e to vbe readily inserted Vbetween the said ribs and then dropped toward the bottom of the door, the top brick between each pair of ribsbeing wedgedhome in any usual or Wellknown manner. The lining of the door is thus made up of sections each removablein dependently of another, the Asaid sections being retained in place .by the beveled form of the ribs e5. The metal plate e4, Fig. 10, may be perforated, if desired, for sake of lightness. The door is provided with an orifice e7, through which the operator may View the interior of the furnace and through which the material may be worked, if required. The orifice e7 is closed by a swinging or sight door es, pivoted at e9, (see. Fig. 10,) the said swinging door having an orifice normally closed by a brick em, interposed between a flange @l5 of the door e8 and a cover cl2, bolted to the outside of the said door, the said brick 810 or. other refractory material being readily replaced by means of the said cover. The sight-door is provided with a counterbalancing-weight el", and the entire furnace-door is raised and. lowered, as herein shown, through a lever pivoted at @16 to a rafter e17 or other suitable support. Thelever referred to has a sector-arm f, to which is sea cured by a bolt f side pieces or bars f2, eX- tended, as shown, below the sector-arm and se cured together by bolt f?, theboltf3 extending through or having fastened to it astraightlink or rod f4, iixed to the staple f5 of the door.

yby recessing the Wall A.

The weight ofthe door e4 is counterbalanced, as shown, by a rail f6 or other bar having a handle, (not shown,) by which the operator may raise and lower the said door.

By the arrangement described the door e4 is under perfect control and maybe left in any desired position.

The door and mechanism to operate it are not herein' claimed.

When it is desired to heat some classes of materialssuch, for instance, as copper and brass-a false bottom, preferably made of bars or strips fm of wrought-iron, as shown in Fig. l, is placed in the heating-chamber. The

false bottom of wrought-iron keeps the copper or other material perfectly clean andpermits the same to be readily moved. Y l y For annealing andsimilar purposes, Where it is desired that the flame should not come directly in contact with the material,`a muflie f8 (see Fig. 2) may be placed in the heating-chamber A3, the said muffle being-Supported above the bottom of the Vchamber by through the heating-chamber by any suitable mechanism in well-known manner.

By inclining the'bottom cl2 of the ash-pit upwardly toward the rear the draft is, forced up toward the rear wall of the ash-pit and caused to pass up through the bed of coal or fuel supported at t'he'rear of the grate-bars, thus producing a substantially-uniforml con-V sumption of the fuel, and, furthermore, the removal of the ashes is facilitated. r

Vhen it is desired to remove the asheslyi ing upon and above the grate-bars a', crupper-bars'g* may be inserted in usual way through the doors 5, one end of each crupper-` bar being extended into and resting upon one of a series of ledges g, (seelFig. 1,) made By forming the ledge g, as described, the clinkers formed on and-adhering to the wall A may be readily detached, and a firm support thus secured for the said crupper-bar.

By providing each gasproducerwith inde-A pendent air and steam pipes controlled by suitable valves each gas-producer may be operated independently of the others-that is, one gas-producer, located at one end of the furnace, may be suppliedwith a less quan` tity of air and steam than another gas-pro dimer-eas, for instance, the gas-producer at the opposite end of the furnace, and conse-v quently the heat generated by the first gasproducer, Will be less than that generatediat the other end.

It Will-be noticed that all the gas-producers communicate with a commonl combustionchamber, as clearly shown in Fig.V 3, which has a common air-supply-namely, the pas IOO sage l2 in the bridge-wall communicating with the said combustion-chamber through theV ducts b4 in the removable caps, as shown in said figure.

I claiml. In a continuous regenerator-furnace, the combination, with the outer walls and dome or roof supported thereby, of an inner dividing upright wall, as A, extended to .near the L vided at its rear end with openings for the escape of theproduots of combustion, and upon which the material to be heated is placed, and a checker-work or continuous regenerator located below and contiguous to the said hearth and having alternately-arranged passages b b7 for ai-r and the products of combustion, the flue or passage in the dividing-Wall communicating with the uppermost air-passage andformin g the outlet for the air-passage b5, and the passage 127, communieating with the stack, the products of combustion passing through the regenerator in an opposite direction to the passage of air, substantially as described.

2. In a continuous regenerator-furnace, the combination, with the outer walls and dome or roof supported thereby, of a plurality of gas-producers A2, located within the said walls, a common heating-chamber to receive the material to be heated, provided with openings or gas-exits opposite each gas-producer, a checker-work or continuous regenerator located below the said heating-chamber, an

the said chamber to be used for different classes of work at the same time, substantially as described.

3. In a continuous regenerator-turnace, the combination, with the outer walls and dome or root` supported thereby, of an inner dividing upright wall, as A', extended to near the said roof and provided at its upper end or top with a flue or passage 12, a gas-supplying pipe 9, located in said iiue or passage, a gas- -producer having its outlet between the said up right wall and roof, a hearth upon which the material to be heated is placed, having openings atits rear end forthe escape ofthe products of combustion, and a checker-work or continuous regenerator located below the said hearth and having passages b5 b7 for air and the products of combustion, the air-passage b5 communicating with the flue or passage 12 in the top of the dividing-wall, the gas supplied by the pipe commingling with the products of combustion, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JAMES A. HERRICK. Vitnesses:

J As. H. CHURCHILL, B. DEWAR. 

